There is no need for us to tell you how good the wine is in Italy but it is extra special in Umbria.

What you may not know is you can go into the local winery and help yourself as if you are at a petrol station. Yes, the wine comes from pumps! It’s very reasonably priced but most importantly very good quality local wine. Do visit Sasso dei Lupi in the Zone Commerciale in Marsciano - this is where the locals go to fill up their large containers.

Take a right on the first roundabout on the way in from the E45, then left at the next. You will find the destination 100 metres on the left.

Do support our local village San Venanzo. The small shops are struggling to compete with Marsciano. San Venanzo have all the basics including a butcher and lovely bakers, chemist, hairdressers and newsagents.

There are lots of supermarkets in Marsciano - the Co-Op in the square, and Lidl, Familia and Conad on the outskirts. For electrical and phones try Euronics Electrical and Brico if you wish to do some maintenance. Most of the stores close from 13.00 – 15.30 but do stay open late.

If you want a shopping centre with a huge hypermarket and more choice than you can imagine, go to Collestrada. It is just off the E45 and is open through the lunch break and is air conditioned. Don’t go into the village of Collestrada - take the brown sign which says Zone Commerciale. You will see the hypermarket signs from the E45. It is close to San Francesco d’Assisi airport and to Assisi.

At Collestrada, there is also a large Zara and Benneton and a number of other well-known shops.

You can’t be in Umbria and not visit a market. The market in Marsciano is on Monday mornings. The market stalls carry a variety of foods including fresh fruit and vegetables and you’ll find lots of bargains on table cloths shoes and clothes. If you are feeling peckish why not try a wild boar panini served from one of the market vans?

If you miss the market in Marsciano there is a family-owned stall on the road in from the E45 selling fruit and vegetables.